Achilles: Legends Untold - Isometric Souls-Like Action RPG with "Innovative" Combat AI System

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Nifft Batuff]

What does it mean "isometric soulslike"?

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://cogconnected.com/preview/achilles-legends-untold-preview/

Achilles: Legends Untold Preview
Just when I thought it might be safe to preview a new game without it being a Soulslike, along comes Achilles: Legends Untold. I mean, it looks like a hack-and-slash, a kind of modern version of Titan Quest maybe. Well, there is a bit of Titan Quest in Achilles, but a whole bunch of Dark Souls, too. And the kicker? It all works great. For once, I was happy to be fooled.

Spoiler

Achilles: Legends Untold doesn’t even join the ranks of Steam Early Access games for a few months, but I had the chance to play a bit of the Beta version. It’s a third person action game set in ancient Greece. Not necessarily the ancient Greece archaeologists would recognize, however. A large section of the Beta takes place as Troy is under siege. You play as Achilles and your foes are not just familiar heroes like Jason and Paris, but creatures from myth. The full game promises a wide range of monsters, powerful heroes, and iconic environments taken from Greek mythology.

Playing the Soulslike Tune on a Greek Lyre
The mechanics of Achilles: Legends Untold will be instantly familiar to Dark Souls fans. Combat is based on stamina management, blocking and dodging, light and heavy attacks. There are the usual kinds of consumables, like health potions, firebombs, and magic buffs for weapons. There’s going to be crafting, too, though it didn’t appear in the Beta. Or maybe I just missed finding Achilles’ version of Andre.

The framework is there for the usual Soulslike character upgrade system. It’s easy to understand, and based on familiar kinds of stats. Characters use shrines instead of bonfires, where they can rest (enemies respawn), level up, or fast travel to other shrines. Like Dark Souls and its many cousins, save locations seem to be near boss encounters.

In the short Beta, I only had the chance to audition an early sword, basic shield and lance-type weapon. They weren’t terribly exciting or powerful weapons. By grinding a bit for souls (yes, they’re called souls) I was able to significantly level up my stats. Since you’re playing the title character, I assume there isn’t a character creation system per se.

The game is playable solo or in co-op. It seems like a perfect fit for two players working together.

Take Your Time. Combat is Deliberate
Right out of the gate, I assumed combat in Achilles: Legends Untold was closer to a typical, Diablo-style action RPG. It didn’t take long to understand that it was much more aligned with Dark Souls. You get a hit or two, and get out of the way. Block, riposte and retreat. Heal up, toss a firebomb, rinse and repeat. In familiar Dark Souls fashion, the tutorial boss kicked my ass a few times, until I did some grinding and leveled up. I got used to the rhythm of the game’s combat soon enough, but I felt that the controls were just a little sluggish and could have been more responsive.

The camera in Achilles: Legends Untold is fixed. You can’t rotate it, or zoom in. This is because moving through the world is entirely linear and directed. There are some side areas to discover, and I enjoyed a fight with a mini-boss scorpion, and fought some skeletons in a cellar. That camera worried me. However, although it was immobile, it was never in the way of what I needed to see or find. I see what the developers were getting at, but I still wish the camera had some flexibility.

Promising Start
Achilles: Legends Untold obviously takes its impressive visual inspiration from a lot of sources. The environments are detailed but rarely destructible or interactive. You won’t be smashing every crate looking for loot. There weren’t a lot of flashy effects, but then, I only played a small slice of the game.

I contend that how a game feels is more important than graphics or story. Once you connect with it, Achilles: Legends Untold plays a familiar, Dark Souls tune but in a new environment. It feels right, with the proper balance of risk, reward, and skill that is the trademark of all good Soulslikes. Achilles: Legends Untold wasn’t on my radar before, but I’ll be following this one closely from now on.

** PC code provided by the publisher for preview **

 

[Old Hans]

What does it mean "isometric soulslike"?

uhhhh..it has skeletons, like dark souls?

 

[KateMicucci]

I have never played a Dark Souls game. In videos it doesn't look very fun. Why is Soulslike a meme?

 

[Modron]

People attach souls like to anything with stamina meters, rolls, and/or parries. They also like to attach it to difficult games because casuals equate dork souls with being hard even though it's mostly just rote memorization and not deliberately building your character poorly. It's about as informative as rogue-lite, in that people also slap it on games with no leveling mechanics whatsoever.

 

[KateMicucci]

Is TW3 a soulslike? That's what watching people play dark souls reminds me of (and I've had enough of that)

 

[Viata]

Why is Soulslike a meme?

Money. They claim it's souls-like to sell the game. Just like how many devs wanted to make their CoD-like game when Call of Duty were selling by the billions.

 

[Tyranicon]

Achilles: Legends Untold also features an innovative GAIA system, responsible for the AI characters’ actions who feel lifelike and work together in unpredictable ways. Experience immersive battles in which monsters adapt to your playstyle, try different strategies, or create ambush scenarios, driven by this contemporary in-house designed system.

This can be interesting, but the description is vague as hell.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3087782926758706074

Achilles: Legends Untold is now in OPEN BETA!​

Hey everyone!

The response from the community during our Closed Beta has been incredible! Thank you to everyone who has played the game, provided feedback, and shared their gameplays. We have read every comment, and seen each of your gameplays and are so happy to see people enjoying Achilles: Legends Untold! Our whole team has worked very hard to bring you a great experience, and this is just the beginning!

We’re now opening the Beta to everyone for the next week, so tell your friends! If you are just discovering Achilles: Legends Untold for the first time, you can now join the Beta by heading over to our Steam page and clicking 'Request Access' and then 'Play Now'.



{LINK REMOVED} to chat about the game, get tips from the community, and share your gameplay and screenshots!

 

[Skdursh]

I was about to try this out, but I'm not downloading 12.75GB for a fucking demo.

 

[cyborgboy95]

One of the most important portals about soulslike games - Fextralife - has published an interview with the devs! Check for more details about what makes Achilles: Legends Untold unique, as well as the challenges that come with making a mix of ARPG and “souls-like”.

Spoiler

Achilles: Legends Untold Developer Interview: Souls-Like Inspirations, Enemies, Combat And More

The developers of Achilles: Legends Untold have given us the opportunity to have an interview with them. Here, they share more details about what makes their game unique, as well as the challenges that come with making a mix of ARPG and “souls-like”.

Developer Dark Point Games took the opportunity to talk to us about their upcoming action RPG, Achilles: Legends Untold. The game is being touted as souls-like but with a twist. Aside from the perspective shift to top-down, Achilles takes pride in its detailed world and innovative AI subsystems. The title recently had its closed/open beta, meaning players got to have a taste of what the Greek set souls-like had to offer.

Players take upon the mantle of Achilles, the hero of legend. Dark Point Games feels like this notable figure would be the perfect icon to follow in a high-action adventure game.



This is our version of the story about this conflict, it’s inspired by and loosely based on the original stories.

Start Your Journey in Troy

The developers are making this their game, and their story to tell. People who have already invested in Greek Mythology are definitely familiar with Achilles as there are already many stories about him. This time around, Dark Point is creating its own storylines inspired and loosely based on the classics. Hence, the “Legends Untold” subheader in the game’s title.

We will be taken around ancient Greece all throughout our adventures as Achilles. In the open beta, players were able to access the prologue level, which only consisted of Troy. During the full release, players will be able to explore the major parts of Greece, which is said to be 15 times bigger than Troy. The game will also be open-world, allowing players to choose where to go. It will be nice to have the option to go on a series of adventures at one’s own pace and take time to explore.

Players will be able to move freely around the world or follow the path that the story sets them on.

While the game does focus on the combat side of things, there are options within the game to decide what happens next, ultimately letting the players decide the fate of certain characters. While this is only partially implemented in the beta, the full game promises to include “severe consequences in where the story takes you”.

Fighting as Achilles
The Souls-like Inspirations
When building their game, Dark Point didn’t set out to be based on Greek Mythology. They were adamant about creating a fresh and unique take on the souls-like genre without directly copying it. The result is rather good, as they were able to build a game with methodical, tactical combat that Dark Souls is known for and mix it with a fresh isometric perspective.

The isometric view makes a lot of players assume that our gameplay is similar to Diablo, but after facing the very first enemy in the game it quickly becomes clear you aren’t going to hack & slash your way through the game!

Combat is going to be slower than most hack-and-slash games. This means that Achilles won’t be slaying hundreds of monsters in one fell swoop like in the Warriors game series. Instead, fights will be more tense and tactical. However, the gameplay’s pace will actually be a bit faster than that in Dark Souls.

Skill based combat and challenge that player has to face. Instead mashing buttons we give players a chance to play tactically. Find enemies’ weakness and learn how to use it to their advantage. That is why even weak enemies can get under your skin at first. Some enemies might seem undefeatable at first, but with practice you’ll overcome all of these challenges.

As for bosses expect a few tricks up Dark Point’s sleeve, as they tease that there will be a “few surprises” when it comes to these challenging foes.

…let’s just say there are still plenty of enemies hiding in the shadows!

The GAIA AI Systems
Powering the combat encounters will be the team’s innovative GAIA system. This system is an addition to the AI already placed in-game. Each and every enemy is its own entity, and can decide already for itself. However, GAIA will sometimes take over and compel multiple enemies to work together against the player.

Players can expect group actions of 2 or more enemies. Sometimes they will also use the environment to go after the player. GAIA actions are meant to be game changers, but also will look how player is handling those action and try to fit it into players difficulty level.

This will mean that the enemies will work in new ways. They can sometimes use the environment to go after the player. As seen in some early gameplay trailers, GAIA is responsible for when enemies make use of special synchronized attacks. It won’t be totally punishing, though. GAIA will also observe how the player reacts to these game-changers and adjust itself accordingly.

It’s All in the Perspective
Speaking of perspective, Dark Point Games will be using this during some specific set pieces. They will be changing the players’ viewpoint to be able to emphasise the size and grandeur of some of the action.

Since the camera is isometric, the team will be able to show off how much their GAIA AI system enhances encounters. This choice was finalized early on within pre-production. Since the camera is floating above, and not behind the player, you can see how enemies sync and perform special attacks together. This would be a bit more difficult to convey in a third-person perspective.

Achilles’ Heel
Options for Mass Destruction
Since Achilles is already a defined warrior in Greek Mythology, there won’t be any class divisions like in other isometric RPGs. However, players will still be able to choose skills and which areas to focus on. For example, there will be some skills that allow Achilles to perform a blink or teleport attack. This allows him to get behind his foes and past any troublesome phalanx formations your enemies might cook up.

Combat will be Slow and Tactical

Achilles will focus on getting up close and personal with his enemies. Melee combat is king and the primary focus in the game. That won’t mean that our hero won’t have ranged options, however.

In lieu of typical bows and arrows, Achilles will be able to hurl his shield at enemies. It will then fly back to him, just like God of War’s Leviathan Axe. You’ll also be able to throw items such as firebombs at your foes.

Stealth will also be present in the game but to a lesser degree. Dark Point Games has some ideas in mind for a unique stealth attack skill, there will be some additional ideas for this mechanic, but the developer describes the skill as medium-range sneak attack.

Customizing Achilles
Aside from skills, of course, you will be able to don our hero with different kinds of equipment. They are shying away from using individual armour pieces. Instead, the developers say that all armours will come in sets. This is being done to ensure that Achilles will always look amazing. No more mismatched boots and glaring colours that don’t look right!

We will be a bit freer in the choice of weapons, however. Players will be able to mix and match between different types of weapons, shields and will also have the option to dual-wield.

The World is Brimming with Secrets

All items in the game will be hand-crafted. This means that, aside from the visuals, all stats and effects will be set by the developers themselves. There will be no randomly generated items. Each of these will come in varying degrees of rarity, ranging from Common, Rare, Unique and Mythical. Weapons can also be upgraded when the player meets the legendary blacksmith, Hephaestus.

The Family that Slays Together Stays Together
Achilles: Legends Untold will also have multiplayer. While the game is in Early Access, the team will be focusing on its online co-op aspect. They will then explore other avenues, like couch co-op later on.

Currently, two players can adventure together in Mythological Greece. There is a dedicated mode for co-op that puts adventurers through a gauntlet of randomly generated dungeons in order to test their mettle. There isn’t any campaign co-op at the moment, but it is something that the developers would want to explore later on.

Along with the premiere of EA, there will be a dedicated mode for co-op. The co-op will put players through trials in randomly generated dungeons to test their skills. This way players won’t interfere on each other’s progress in the campaign. However, we are hoping to explore campaign co-op in the future

The Open Beta and Moving Forward
The team at Dark Point Games has been very happy with all the feedback gathered from the Open Beta. It has been “nerve-wracking” but is overall happy with what they’ve been hearing so far. They will be sorting through all the player feedback and then try to show off as many unique things as they can before launch. They share that the feedback from players has been “invaluable” especially when it comes to difficulty and combat.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3178987794868565952

Achilles: Legends Untold launches on Early Access May 12th!
Escape death. Defy the Gods. Become a Legend.
Hey everyone! We finally have a date for you, and a new trailer! Achilles: Legends Untold will be launching on Steam Early Access May 12th, 2022.

You thought you knew the story of the great warrior Achilles, but his myth doesn't end with the infamous arrow (we don't call our game Achilles: Legends Untold for nothing !).

Watch our new trailer to get an early glimpse at the story of our game and the divine, yet sinister, intervention that brings Achilles back from the dead.

t's been a long journey since our reveal last year, but you won't have to wait much longer!

We received a ton of great feedback during our Beta a couple months ago, and have worked hard to deliver a unique action RPG experience that matches our vision and meets your expectations. We can't wait for you all to play Achilles: Legends Untold in a few weeks!

Enjoyed the trailer, but still want more? Here's some exciting new screenshots to tide you over .

 

[cyborgboy95]

Coop gameplay

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/4964667046650693530

Achilles: Legends Untold is available NOW in Early Access!
Launch day has arrived!

Hey everyone! We're so excited to finally launch Achilles: Legends Untold into Early Access! Our small team has worked hard to deliver on our vision of making a challenging, but rewarding Souls-like experience featuring the legendary warrior Achilles .

Early Access

Early Access is just the beginning of our journey! We have a full campaign that we'll continue to add content to as we approach the full release of the game, and we'll be listening to all community feedback to help us shape Achilles: Legends Untold into the best game possible.

Roadmap

We'll reveal more of our plans for the game throughout Early Access, but here's what you can expect in the short term:

• Twitch Integration - We want to help audiences engage with their favorite Twitch streamers during gameplay. We'll be adding the ability for viewers to vote on whether they REWARD or PUNISH streamers. It's up to the audience whether they choose kindness, or chaos.
  
• Arenas - We'll be introducing portals to transport you from Greece to the depths of Tartarus. These challenging combat arenas will pit you against waves of enemies and powerful bosses.
  
• New Boss - Another boss from Greek Mythology. We won't reveal the surprise quite yet...

Thank you to everyone for playing Achilles: Legends Untold! We hope you enjoy the game, and be sure to leave us feedback on any of our social media accounts, or in our Discord server below!

{LINK REMOVED}

{LINK REMOVED} to chat about the game, be the first to see new reveals, talk with the dev team, and more!

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/4964667046651197949

Known Issues and Player Feedback
Player feedback is incredibly important to us, and is a big reason why we brought the game to Early Access. Your feedback will help us make Achilles: Legends Untold the best it can be.

Co-op
We are aware of the performance issues players are experiencing in our co-op game mode. The team is working hard to address and fix these issues as soon as possible.

Known Issues
Below is a list of other issues and bugs in the game that we are aware of so far. These are all actively being worked on.

• Despawning Skeleton King and other bosses
  
  Exiting the game during the Skeleton King boss fight can cause issues after reloading the game. Players will get back to the boss arena and despawn the Skeleton King, locking themselves into the arena. Other boss fights might have the same issue
  
  
• Getting stuck in environment
  
  In some cases, players can get hard-stuck in some environments. In rare cases, players need to restart the game entirely, as only reloading the game may have Achilles still stuck in the same position
  
  
• Visual bugs when opening the equipment menu during portal travel
  
  Opening the equipment menu during portal travel may break the camera settings and cause the Achilles model to disappear from the equipment menu screen
  
  
• Unable to interact with Shrines after potion teleport
  
  Using teleport to home potions during combat can cause problems with some interactive objects, mainly Hades Shrines. To fix it players will have to leave to the main menu and get back to the game.
  
  
• Chiron's armor visual bug
  
  Wearing Chiron's Armor may distort Achilles' look in gameplay.
  
  
• Firtos quest completion bug
  
  Dying during the fight with the three scorpions may cause an issue where one scorpion despawns, leaving the player unable to finish the quest.
  
  
• King Scorpio completion bug
  
  Dying or leaving a fight with King Scorpio may cause him to de-spawn leaving the player unable to finish the quest.
  
  
• Fullscreen/Windowed selection not saving
  
  Changing video settings to fullscreen or windowed fullscreen may not be saved in config file.
  
  
• Fall through world at Chronos' temple
  
  On the wooden stairs close to Chronos’ temple it's possible for the player to sometimes fall through the world
  
  
• Inconsistent co-op animation
  
  In co-op, low FPS on the host will cause jumpy animations on the client side.
  
  
• Teleporting to Mountain Forest issue
  
  Interaction with the portal to Mountain Forest may cause game freeze
  
  
• Equipment screen crash
  
  Opening the equipment menu at the exact time a tutorial message pops up may cause the game to freeze or crash
  
  
• Cronos before Hephaestus blocking progression
  
  Entering Chronos’ temple before releasing Hephaestus can block progression in the main story line
  
  
• Falling through world in the lower dungeon
  
  In some instances, entering the lower dungeon level can sometimes lead to falling through the world
  
  
• Avast Antivirus false positive
  
  Avast antivirus can report false positive virus detection. We have confirmation from Avast that Achilles is verified and should not cause this issue
  
  
• Localization issues
  
  Players may encounter some localization issues in languages other than English – missing translations, some text boxes might be empty or have text from other languages
  
  
• Co-op Dungeon completion bug
  
  In rare cases during co-op, players may encounter issues that make dungeon completion impossible
  
  
• Collision with objects bug
  
  In Greece, there are rare occasions where the player may get stuck in objects or fall through the map. Exiting to the main menu and selecting ‘Continue’ should fix the problem
  
  
• Erratic enemy AI
  
  Sometimes enemies may act erratic, or in rare cases stop fighting the player entirely
  
  
• Unobtainable loot
  
  In rare cases, loot drops from enemies may spawn outside the playable area and be unobtainable by the player
  
  
• Completed quests shown as ongoing
  
  Some completed quests may be displayed in the journal as ‘ongoing’

We're working hard on fixing these bugs and we appreciate your patience. We will continue to be transparent with the community on what we are working on with the game throughout Early Access.

We welcome feedback and other bug reports in our Discord, on our social accounts, and in the Steam forums.


Thank you for your passion and support for Achilles: Legends Untold!

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3338872014932218753

Creating new models - An inside look at Triremes
One of the things we’re focused on, while creating assets for the game, is the time period in which our story takes place. The Trojan War is estimated to have taken place in the 12th century BC. It was during the Greek Bronze Age, that our hero took his journey to vanquish the Trojans. But it’s a long way from Greece, leading right across the Aegean Sea - to get there, he needed a suitable vessel…

The Trireme
The Greek Triremes have been known as formidable warships. They had three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. One of these ships could hold up as many as 200 warriors, every one of them ready for battle.

We haven’t really felt like the model we’ve been using (the one behind in the photo below) was adequate to their legend, so we took it upon ourselves to design one that would get even the best shipwrights of the time to look in awe.

Research
As usual, the creation process began with research, mainly of the ship’s architecture and its overall look. We got reference from photos of real ship replicas, which were perfect for our needs.

We carefully studied each detail and feature using reference photos, and after all that work, the 3D model finally came to be. Of course, there was still far more work to be done, we only had a shape back then.

Models
The ship itself is composed of multiple parts - there’s the standard low poly version, as well as a sculptured one with all the ornaments, making the textured model look much more realistic.

Textures
Of course, the textures had also needed to be separately prepared. For example, the wood from the ship consists of a few different texture images. The most important ones are the normal map and the color texture. The first one contains all of the bumps and dents in the wood and is used to give it depth.

The second one, as you might’ve guessed, is used to give the wood colors. Pretty straightforward, right? After putting them together and applying the finished texture to the model, the ship is looking really natural and convincing.

Lighting
And now, the thing that really gives the scene life - lighting! After setting up the scene and carefully placing the light sources, the ship is looking better than ever. The reference images we used were a great help in reproducing a realistic sunset over the Aegean Sea.

In-Game
Now we can put the ship in the game’s engine. As you can see on the GIFs below, it’s not just a rigid model - it actually supports physics! It’s a great accent, making the boat look alive, as if it really was sailing through the waves.



We hope you enjoyed seeing some of the behind the scenes stuff and us revealing parts of our creative process. It’s not just the fixes that we’re focusing on - as you can see, we’re actively working hard on creating and adding more content to Achilles: Legends Untold.

We want to make more posts like this one in the future, as we love to share our passion for making video games with the players. Make sure to follow our announcements page, so you won’t miss out on any of them!

We’d also like to really thank our players for all the feedback we’re getting, both on Discord and Steam. Thanks to your help, we’re on our way to creating the video game that everyone will be able to enjoy. If you also want to take part in the development, you can leave us your suggestions and input, either on the discussions page or on our Discord server (link below).

See you soon!

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3338872734887053154

AI Improvements and Additions
Hey everyone! We're back with another behind-the-scenes look into our development process. This week we're diving into how we're improving combat in the game by focusing on improvements to enemy AI.

Achilles: Legends Untold is an action game - one of its most important elements is the combat system. And, as you know, combat is only as good as the enemies you fight! That’s why we give special care to the enemy AI during development. We want the game to provide you with truly formidable opponents and memorable, challenging encounters. Here’s an inside look on how we’re managing and continuing to improve our enemy AI:

The Old AI System

The original system we were using was based on “attack tokens”. First, the game checked the current condition of the fight - how much time has passed since the last attack? How many enemies are fighting Achilles right now? What type of enemies are they?

Then, the enemies, who were chosen after the condition check, were given some amount of attack tokens from the limited total pool. They were able to consume these tokens by attacking Achilles - then the AI returned them to the pool, so they could be dispensed again, during the next condition check.

(Enemies attacking & instantly backing off)

That’s how the game chose who will be striking at our hero and when he should do it. We decided the system needed improvements. We’ve been getting feedback from our players, that the opponents back off too quickly after attacking, and that it’s hard to counterattack efficiently. We’re listening! - and that’s why we’re making some changes.

The New AI System

The new & improved system is similar, but it splits enemies into certain groups. The AI can either be on the passive or the active list. What does this mean?

• Active - An enemy that gets on the active list will stay close to Achilles and try to attack him.
• Passive - On the other hand, the enemies on the passive list will give way to the active ones - they will move around at a distance and taunt our hero, waiting for their turn.

What does that mean for the player? With these changes, the combat will feel a lot more continuous - enemies that attack Achilles will stay focused on him longer, giving the player a better opportunity to punish them and counterattack. The fights will be much more natural, with enemies moving around more strategically. It will make the whole system feel less clunky, improving on the current AI behavior.

(Improved token system, enemies stay more focused)

On the Offensive

The combat style of our AI is shifting from a focus on defense to a more offensive-minded behavior. Now the enemies will be more vulnerable to your counters, but they won’t just let you attack them so easily. They are becoming more aggressive and will hunt you relentlessly! You will have to adapt your fighting style and strategy in order to survive against these more aggressive enemies . This fundamental change will make gameplay feel more dynamic and keep you on your toes, as you maneuver your way through more challenging opponents.

New Enemy Abilities

That’s not all! Apart from improving the AI system, we’re also actively expanding upon it. We want our enemies to have a wide array of attack types and environment interactions, so we’re constantly experimenting and adding new ones. For example, here are two new abilities we’ve been working on:

The Spear Throw

See these spears in the ground, scattered around the map? Enemies are able to locate them, pick them up, and throw them at Achilles using all their might and strength. If you don’t want to become a human shish kebab, watch out and dodge them!

The Flaming Arrows

We have many fireplaces placed in all of Greece, and it’s time we put them to a better use! Apparently, the archers haven’t been taught not to play with fire - they are now able to come up to any fire source, and light their arrows with flame. Better extinguish their enthusiasm, or you’ll get 3rd degree burns!

Bonus

We’re also creating unique abilities for the bosses. As you might’ve already seen, in patch 0.1.3 we expanded on Menelaus’ skillset. Now he’s carrying a bottle with a purple fluid - he can drink some of it and spit at Achilles, poisoning him. He’s also able to cover his weapon with it and start dealing poison damage on hit.

As it turns out, Menelaus is also a bit of a pyromaniac - he likes to light his sword on fire, burning Achilles with each strike. Using it, he can also spit fire at you! A dangerous foe indeed.

We’re giving our all to the game’s combat. We want to make it dynamic and exciting, but to also fully incorporate the strategic aspects of the top-down view, so it’s a challenging experience for the players. Thanks to the input we’ve been getting from you, with each update we’re getting closer to that goal!

Remember that you can also become a part of the process - we’re actively collecting and looking through your feedback, both here and on our Discord server. If you have any thoughts you want to share with us about the game, make sure to write us a message in a discussions thread, or in the dedicated Discord channel (link below).

See you in the next development update!

 

[Lacrymas]

Legends untold, huh? So, we are finally going to figure out what really happened between Achilles and Patroclus in his tent.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3364770157948076449

The Road to Update 0.2.0 (Devlog #1)
Hi everyone!

Recently, we have been sharing some insights about the development of Achilles: Legends Untold. The posts were pretty well received, so we decided to officially make them into a regular thing! This is the first entry in a new series of Devlogs, that will show you some of the features we’re working on, as well as behind-the-scenes stuff happening at our studio. Let’s begin, shall we?

We’ve been working on a big content update for some time now.

One of the main and most requested features that will be making an appearance, is the in-game map. Well, we think you’ll be happy to hear that the hardest part is already behind us, and the basics are already in place!

The map in Achilles: Legends Untold will consist of a minimap on the HUD, and a bigger, fullscreen one, that you can scroll around to seek various points of interest.

Of course, it still needs improvements, but seeing it in a working state made us all even more motivated to work. We're still working on the visual design of the map, but we’ll have something nice to show you soon .

Another thing that’s in development right now, are the fight arenas.

It’s a new activity for Achilles to take on – the player will be able to enter a new level, where he will face a sequence of special enemy waves.

We grabbed a short gif of the place, to showcase where you’ll be fighting. Take a look!

The Arenas are all Hades-themed, with a slightly spooky vibe to them. You’ll get to fight unique, stronger enemy variants, tainted by the underworld’s energy.

Each arena can be visited once, through an entrance point on the main map, that will close after you successfully complete the challenge.

Tydeus
The next feature we want to talk about is our newest boss fight. The enemy in question is the mighty Tydeus, known mostly from the story of the Seven Against Thebes, who fought to take back the Thebes for Polynices.

The boss fight itself is still being polished, but if you’re curious how’s he going to look, here’s a concept art straight from under the pen of one of our artists:

Castor
That’s not all! We’re also still expanding on our current bosses. Castor just got more skills to aid him in defending his village. He’s a master in wielding his battleaxe - he’s able to perform a powerful 2-hit combo, swinging it at you, or rush at you from a distance. Be careful while fighting him, or you can easily get chopped in half.

The boss also received a second move - he can slam his shield against the ground, summoning a healing circle around him. His health will slowly regenerate while he stands inside, so better try and kick him out of there!

Castor will now pose as a greater challenge for heroes daring to cross the stone bridge, that the passage through he’s guarding so vigilantly.

We’re livening up the map a bit! Now you’ll not only encounter warriors and various beasts scattered around Greece, but also the villagers that live and work there.

They’re not really the combative type – when they see a fight, they get scared, scream, and run for their lives. See for yourself!

Killing them is completely optional, and it doesn’t grant any rewards, so it’s up to you to decide what kind of warrior you’ll be.

Apart from working on the new features, we’re still honing our current ones. The AI will be getting a new and improved player targeting system (see our previous dev post for more details!). Some items will be getting a bit of a rework, mostly new icons and descriptions. We’re also smoothing out the controls, squashing the leftover bugs and increasing the overall optimization.

It’s all hard work here at Dark Point Games! Our team’s morale is high, and we’re excited to let you play the update for yourself when it releases.

Achilles: Legends Untold’s setting is entirely based around Greek Mythology. It’s full of interesting stories, and we’d love to share some of them with you! From here on out, the Devlogs will have a special trivia section at the end - ranging from fun facts about our characters, through some lesser-known details about the events from the myths they partake in.

Did you know?
Tydeus was mortally wounded by Melanippus during the war. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, intended to make him immortal, but the seer Amphiaraus cut off the head of Melanippus and gave it to Tydeus, who proceeded to eat the brains of his killer. The Goddess, revolted by what she saw, changed her mind and left Tydeus to die.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3222909306854312976

The Coming of Tydeus (DevLog #2)
Hey everyone!

First off, as the dust after Gamescom has settled, we have a few words we want to say to you:

There’s a lot of exciting stuff we want to share, so with that out of the way, let’s get right into the next DevLog!

The feature that’s been the most requested one for some time now - the in-game minimap - is in the late polishing stage! It tracks Achilles’ position, and shows you the shortest path to the currently followed quest objective. Navigating ancient Greece has never been easier! Now you can be sure you won’t miss anything.

As promised in the last post, a quick showcase of it in action:

Remember the mad, brain-eating warrior we showed you in the last entry? Well, he’s gotten a lot more polished since then! Our 3d artist has been working hard on his model, and it really paid off! You can see the effects in the shots below:

We’ve also given a lot of care to the boss fight itself - Tydeus is a warrior to behold!

First off, he has mastered the art of the dual blade - his attacks are fast, and his aggressive tendencies only fuel his strength. The swords he’s wielding are so sharp, that they can inflict heavy bleeding, if he manages to even slightly cut you with his attacks.

Tydeus has a number of impressive skills, including:

• A powerful swing of his sword - extended in range, as if his burning hatred imbued the blade, lengthening its reach.
• A spinning dash attack - don’t blink or you’ll miss it! Tydeus leaps forward, twirling his swords at high speed and slashing everything in his path.
• A jump attack - Tydeus springs upwards, and uses all of his momentum to deal death from above to his enemies.
• Sword throw - what to do, when your enemy keeps getting out of your attack range? Extend it. Tydeus throws spinning swords at you, creating a flying blade vortex.

You can see that madman performing each of the moves mentioned before in this GIF below:

As a little secret, he's not the only boss making an appearance in the upcoming update. There is one more, although we won’t reveal who he is just yet…

The arenas are now fully functional and in the polishing stage!

There will be several rift entrances scattered around the world - they’re the manifestation of Tartarus intertwining with the mortal plane. Your objective here, is to rid them of all the enemies trying to breach through, and then close the entrances. That way you can restore some balance and bring back order to the human world.

Each rift is a series of various combat waves. All of the enemies you’ll find here are tainted with underworld’s energy, making them stronger (and more ominous looking) than their regular counterparts, which you might have already met.

You can watch one of the arenas getting beaten and the rift closed in this preview clip:

Some mysterious doors have appeared around map. Where do they lead to? Guess we’ll have to wait and see…

As we already mentioned before, we’ve been to Gamescom this year! Our visitors got to try early some of the features from above. It was an amazing opportunity for us to hear firsthand what people have to say. We not only loved getting to show them what we’ve been working on, but also really enjoyed just talking to the players, like gamers to gamers.

Let’s get back to the game though - there was a lot of progress made lately, and we’re getting closer and closer to releasing the update. There’s some polishing left to do, we want our players to enjoy the new content without any troubles, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming for right now.

From the smaller changes, grenades got trajectory prediction! If you hold down the quick use button, you can aim your throw and see its AoE on screen.

Character rotation also got smoothed out a bit. As always, we’re keeping track of the optimization and increasing it where we can.

That’s it for today. Overall, it’s all looking pretty good! We can’t wait to let everyone try it already.

See you next time!

Did you know?
Tartarus is a place dedicated to the imprisonment and torment of mortals, who had sinned against the gods. Each punishment was unique to the condemned.

Some of the inhabitants of Tartarus are Cyclopes, Kronos, some Titans like Prometheus, King Sisyphus, King Tantalus, Ixion, Danaides, giant Tityos, and King Salmoneus.

According to Hesiod, a bronze anvil falling from heaven would fall for nine days, before it reaches the earth. That same anvil would take nine more days to fall from earth to Tartarus.

 

[cyborgboy95]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1314000/view/3312983836393815291

A Look at Pollux - The Divine Son of Zeus (Devlog #3)
Hi everyone! There are still some features coming in 0.2.0 that we haven’t revealed yet. No time like the present, right? Let’s get right to it.

Brother to Castor, one of the Dioscuri, and a champion of Zeus - Pollux is the second boss coming to the game.

He's equipped with a sword, a beautifully ornamented shield, and solid armor that protects him from enemy attacks.

Pollux's godly heritage gives him a bit of an advantage in combat, as he possesses some powerful abilities:

• Opposite to Castor's defensive field, Pollux creates an area of sunlight so strong that it deals damage to Achilles, but barely weakens himself.
• Pollux can teleport to Achilles in a relentless attack. You might never see it coming, before it’s too late...
• Pollux can leap forward at Achilles from a great distance, extending his attack's reach and leaving significant wounds on target struck.

You can see a quick showcase of them below:

Remember those mysterious gates we showed in the last devlog? It’s time for a reveal - they actually lead to entire new locations! After you go through one of these passageways, you'll find a whole new dungeon to explore.

It won't be easy though - some of them are full of undead, others are filled with bandits; you might even have mythical creatures standing in your way!

At the end of each dungeon, there's a chest with rewards, and an exit portal, so you don't have to go all the way back where you came from.

Can you complete them all?

We’ve already shown you what in-game minimap’s current version looks like, but there’s also an entire fullscreen map for you to use! It’s the first iteration and it will certainly undergo changes down the road, but it’s already pretty useful right now.

You can scroll around the entire world map and either seek various points of interest like shrines and chests, or look for locations you haven’t visited yet. The map gradually reveals itself as you explore the world of Achilles: Legends Untold. Try to discover it all!

Our loading screens now contain tips for the game! They should make the short wait in between levels more enjoyable.

As always, optimization is only getting better with time. We’re making sure that the game runs as smoothly as ever.

We’re getting really close to the update’s release! Our hopes are up, and we think you’ll really enjoy the new content we have prepared.

Until next time!

Pollux & Castor are brothers, together known to the world as the Dioscuri. While their mother was Leda, they had separate fathers - Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, while Pollux was the divine son of Zeus, who seduced Leda in the guise of a swan. They were also both related to Helen of Troy, as she was their sister.

When Castor got fatally wounded, Zeus gave Pollux a choice - he could either spend all of his time on Mount Olympus, or give half of his immortality to his mortal brother. He opted for the latter, enabling the twins to alternate between Olympus and Hades.

The brothers became the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini ("The Twins").

 

[somerandomdude]

Wolcen-like is a more accurate label, but that's not a label that will sell.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Inventory Addition & New Locations (DevLog #4)

Hi everyone!

A while has passed since our last DevLog, and the time is due for a new entry. Buckle up, we have some things to go over!

We're working hard at developing existing and new mechanics, fixing issues and testing out upcoming things. There's much, much more to show you regarding this process. This time however we have a few ready elements to showcase, here they are!

The quest focused around finding Agamemnon will get expanded! Agamemnon is a king, and each king worthy of his title has a palace that he rules his kingdom from. Agamemnon’s is located right in Mycenae, where you’ll be able to see it in all of its might.

Using many items at once - a feature much requested by our players - will be available in the next update! Now you won’t have to get through all the fate items you’ve collected one by one. We hope it will provide you with a new level of convenience.

We’re also adding a simple crafting mechanic - you’ll be able to make some items straight out of your inventory!

There is much more to come. Stay tuned!

Did you know?

Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and the brother of Menelaus, was the one who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War.

In Homer’s Iliad, near the end of the war he had a quarrel with Achilles. He stole an attractive slave called Briseis, one of the spoils of war, from Achilles. This created a rift between Achilles and Agamemnon, causing Achilles to withdraw from battle and refuse to fight.

Agamemnon, having realized Achilles's importance in winning the war against the Trojan Army, sent ambassadors begging for Achilles to return, offering him riches and the hand of his daughter in marriage. Achilles refused, only being spurred back into action when Patroclus was killed in battle by Hector, eldest son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba.